Iris boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 30 of 161

Very friendly and capable crew and bike tour leader. I highly recommend this tour if you are a bike rider. If you're planning on using an electric bike- test ride one mear your home to insure it's good for you.

Unusual and excellent itinerary starting in Amsterdam and ending in Paris. Beautiful barge with lovely accommodations and amazing, stunningly presented food. Nice group size.

On the whole I enjoyed this trip but I do not recommend e-bikes for novice riders or anyone not in good physical shape. The e-bikes were certainly high quality but very heavy and difficult to manage in the crowded cities. The route is flat and I believe a regular bike would have been just fine. The guides, crew, staff, scenery, cities, events and accommodations were all stellar! The meals were top notch-everything was wonderful but again, I feel there needs to be something to warn people that heavy e-bikes are not for everybody. I ride an e-bike at home but it’s half the weight of the ones used by the touring company.

Bike rides led by our guides were terrific. Even soaked to the skin on the one rainy day was memorable. The food was plentiful and suppers were terrifically tasteful and delicious. Crew was very sociable and knowledgeable.

Stopping at the cheese farm was amazing! Even though it was cold, breezy & occasionally rainy, if you have the correct gear you're good. Tim & Hetty were amazing guides. Always compassionate & ready to change course if needed.Barge was lovely. Snacks awaiting our return each day. All the staff were kind & helpful.

The IRIS barge was great as was the crew. Couldn’t have been more supportive or helpful. I would Not call this a tulip tour-almost all tulips were dead headed. Tulip tours need to end two weeks prior to our tour. We did not see the massive fields of tulips, we did not ride along roads filled town tulips - we were post season.

Exceeded all our expectations except one. The guides were extraordinary; knowledgeable, kind and helpful in every way. The rides were the right combination of challenging but doable at every level and filled with so many interesting and fun stops. The activities were terrific including beer tasting, cheese, culture and history as well as special treats and events all included e.g pancake lunch, admission fees to special places and the windmill tour. The boat staff could not have been more delightful and accommodating and the cook’s meals and the wine pairing were superb. The captain too was such an interesting, happy person, making the travel on the canal that much more fun. Everyone seemed to do their job with passion and joy sharing that with the passengers.
The only criticism is that we more notice should have been given of the “State of the Tulips”. We were not aware that all the fields would be trimmed. But the Keukenhof gardens were spectacular. I highly recommend this trip

Service was great. The crew was friendly, professional and caring. The food was very good and plentiful. The bikes were great and while our weather was not 100%, the biking was good. Lots of extra tours. I would recommend the Iris and their tours to everyone.

A great crew/team on the Iris leaves us with very high expectations for future bike/barge trips.
The food was great and the bikes were perfect.
We loved the back roads and bike paths chosen for our rides.

The Food, the crew, bike leaders and our fellow riders were Fun

Carol and I enjoyed our trip on the IRIS. The sheft was excellent and food was great. We enjoyed the walks at different locations surveying the different cities we stopped at. My only complaint was that we were requested by the guides to not participate in the bike riding portion of the trip. Since we had limited use of the electric bikes we rented, I would request a refund of the 340 Euros that we paid to use the electric bikes.

Country side riding. Excellent crew. The crew was excellent. Boat was nice

We enjoyed biking in the countryside along the farm fields and the canals.

Definitely the guides & all of the crew were great. Both Alice & Thomas were brilliant & Sabrina was wonderful. Friendly, informative & helpful

The whole trip was laid out oerfectly. Staff was great especially our guide Alice!

Booking agent (Kirsten) was fabulous, guides and staff, fantastic and knowledgeable of all areas. Food was great, cabins, clean and good size. Bikes were in excellent condition. Loved the scenery, stops along the way — castle, gardens…
Guided walks in several locations at night after dinner was also a nice feature.

Great experience overall. Biking, guides, Captain and crew, shipmates!

This was a great trip because of the great guides, great crew, and great cook.

Our bike/barge trip surpassed our expectations. The crew was great: the captain, the crew who took care of us on the boat, and our two guides. We really enjoyed the bonus of stopping along the route to see interesting sites or to have a treat and tea in a pretty spot. The Moselle Valley is so beautiful, and in October the colors were unexpectedly beautiful. We would definitely recommend this!

Enjoyed the camaraderie knowledge of the staff. Iris had a wonderful layout but maybe not a round sink in bathroom w faucet in center so when washing your face water goes all over

The wonderful boat, delicious food, fantastic scenery, and amazing crew and guides made for an outstanding trip!

My trip was Cochem to Metz and it was excellent! The Iris is a beautiful, well furnished barge that had a fabulous welcoming, friendly crew and two fun guides to show us the historical sights along the Moselle River. Extra activities for us were delightful. Fun to be with a smaller group of people on this bike and barge trip. I would definitely go on another excursion!

My recent bike and barge trip "Cochem to Metz" was by far one of the best I have done. The whole process from initial inquiry to disembarkation was handled wonderfully by Trip Site. It so nice be able to speak to a real person whether just calling for information or making sure that the initial booking is in proper order. That process was handled professionally and pleasantly by one Kirsten Hollister. Kirsten was always there to help and advise. I can't thank her enough.
We chose the ship the Iris. Its an intimate barge which holds a maximum of 24 passengers. On our trip there were 19. Our rooms were spacious with two single beds and ample room for storage. The bathroom although small was everything one needed. We were quite comfortable. Above deck there was a spacious lounge and a lovely dining area. Additionally there was seating out of doors on the front deck. Temperatures were a little cool in mid-October so we didn't spend a lot of time there.
The crew consisted of 4: a captain, 1st mate, house keeper and a cook. All were extremely cordial , friendly and professional. The ship ran smoothly. The cook Joost did an excellent job . Cuisine varied from day to day featuring many regional dishes. All delicious. We were well fed. A nice touch were the included wine parings with dinner. It was great sampling the wines for which the Mosel is famous especially after we had cycled past the vineyards from which they were born.
Two guides were there to lead us along the bike paths along the Mosel. We were divided into two groups each with nine or ten. Its was pleasant to be in such smaller groupings. Our guides were experienced, knowledgeable and a whole lot of fun.
I can't say enough about the itinerary. The Mosel is a beautiful meandering river much smaller than the Rhine. Cycling along it was more than enjoyable. The frequent stops whether to have a coffee and pastry or visit a castle were well worth it. We saw and did a lot with memories to last a lifetime.
The itinerary along the Mosel in addition to being intimate and quaint was diverse. The trip begins in charming Cochem with its German heritage and ends in the quintessentially French city of Metz. We did as well venture into tiny Luxembourg to taste the local bubbly. Quite delicious. Thus we experienced three countries and we haven't even mentioned the Romans who were there long before the others!
Cochem to Metz is a great tour. I heartily recommend it. It will be one of your favorites, too.

John L.

Most memorable were:
The evening spent with a family-run wine farmer; tasting and purchasing wine from the guys who made it;
Seeing the cathedral in Trier;
The covered market in Metz and other open farmer markets along the way;
The moderate biking through the picturesque Moselle wine country;
Cultural and historic insights and explanations by our guide Wim;
Getting to know other Americans on the same journey;
The great food and wine offered all but one night on the Iris;
A few minutes spent on the bridge with our captain;
And finally, enjoying the hospitality, friendliness and accommodation of the crew of the Iris and our guides Wim and Alice.
On the, "Items in need of improvement" list:
One of our guides was more knowledgeable and willing to share his knowledge than the other; she has good guide skills but is inexperienced and needs to study the route and its attractions and features a bit;
There were several falls experienced by several of our group, which was 100% composed of seniors. Seniors fall, it's a fact of life, and they fall more often on bikes, especially those who don't bike much and are awkward on a bike. Some of these "accidents" can be avoided. A better orientation the night before we depart that clearly states the rules of the road would be advisable, and reminders each night about what the guides saw that day and coaching on what could be doe to assure the safety of guests. That coaching should include: do not ride side by side to have a conversation - single file only; obey traffic signals; signal when you're coming to a stop; move your bike off the path when stopping. This kind of basic rules of the road talk is needed and some direct, private conversations with the violators would go a long way towards increased safety. I was relieved no one needed medical attention. It's unrealistic to think that none of your seniors will ever have a fall on a week-long trip, but many of them can be avoided.
The bikes have seen a long season by a variety of guests and by mid-October they have a lot of wear and tear. Might be time to sell them and replace with new ones.
The Iris is a great boat for 20 guests; I found myself hoping for a space where I could read a book in private. On another bike and barge trip in Italy on the Ave Maria there was a second deck with deck chairs and an awning. Guess I'm saying I would have preferred a larger boat.

A terrific trip on all counts: excellent boat, great crew, wonderful food, a beautiful itinerary, and excellent trip leaders. I especially enjoyed the fact our biking was interrupted with frequent stops to enjoy local sights, learn about regional customs and cuisine and history. Not only did we get some great exercise but we leaned and experienced much more. Wundebahr!

The crew, the food, the beautiful scenery. Very nice time. Thank you

We had an excellent time on the tour. The sites we great, biking path was paved, food and the care on the Iris was excellent.
Biking on the city bridges were not always easy. A little scary with the traffic. Loved the e-bike. Would definitely go on another bike and barge trip.

This was our 4th Bike & Barge trip with Tripsite; all memorable & enjoyable. The 2 guides we had on this trip, Weiger and Hetty were phenomenal. They were very helpful and knowledgeable about so many of the sights along the Moselle River. We had 20 guests on this trip. Most of the 6 biking days, our guides had us split up in 2 groups which worked out perfectly. The weather was great 95% of the time; great Barge Captain and crew. Beautiful scenery and nice barge.

Everything was excellent! Staff, guides, food, the boat, bikes, and the itinerary. We loved the small group experience -25 guests. We got to know everyone:)

Iris and all the staff were terrific. Food was superb. Guides were very good. All around a great experience for our group of 12